Mike McVay is president of McVay Media, a full-service consulting firm, which specializes in content creation, network/syndication/radio programming, podcast creation and development, digital content, talent coaching and unique media strategy design. McVay also consults in the entertainment sector focusing on video, digital, audio, music artists and labels. His clients include Disney+ and National Geographic.
McVay was most recently the executive vice president of Content and Programming for Cumulus Media and the Westwood One radio network. In his role, he oversaw the programming for Cumulus’ 500+ owned radio stations and Westwood One, the company’s national network/syndication arm. His role also included responsibility for podcast content, digital distribution and content creation, as well as overseeing the company’s programing education curriculum.
McVay coaches talent, programmers and content creators on the art of entertainment, attracting an audience and maximizing personalities as a brand. His services also include talent procurement. His client list includes ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, HBO’s Soledad O’Brien, country stars Kix Brooks and Reba McEntire, musical artists Hall & Oates and Rascal Flatts, Headline News’ Robin Meade, radio talent Don Imus, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, syndicated talent Delilah, Elaina D. Smith, “The Kidd Kraddick Show,” John Tesh and more.
He has 40 –years of experience as a programmer with national and local consulting, management, ownership, sales, network/syndication, programming and on-air experience. He has also developed and launched several nationally syndicated programs. His experience includes serving as an international media consultant with companies around the world. He was a founding partner in the digital company now known as Futuri Media, and an original investor in Edison Research. He is recognized as the co-creator, with Delilah Renee, of the nationally syndicated Premiere Networks radio show “Delilah.” He was instrumental in the launch of “The John Tesh Show” as a daily syndicated program and he continues to consult. McVay Media began serving broadcasters and talent in 1984.
He has programmed in large markets like Los Angeles, Calif., and small markets such as Wheeling, W.Va. He was also on-air talent in Charleston, W.Va., Louisville, Ky., Pittsburgh, Pa., and San Diego, Calif. He served as general manager in Mobile, Ala., and Cleveland, Ohio. He has owned radio stations in Key West and Naples, Fla., Honolulu, Hawaii, and Flint, Mich.
McVay has consulted with more than 200 radio stations globally, including radio stations in Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to legacy media,he currently consults with several global media businesses, including Benztown, iMAR Entertainment, Audiospace and Radio.Cloud.
McVay has received numerous awards and acknowledgements. He is a 2025 inductee into the National Radio Hall of Fame and was acknowledged as a Giant of Broadcasting by the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation in November 2024. He has received the prestigious Rockwell Award and the inaugural Innovation in Music & Media Award, ranked repeatedly among “America’s Top Programmers” by Radio Ink, been listed on Radio Ink’s “Top-40 Most Powerful Broadcaster” list, named one of the “Titans of Talk” by NTS for multiple years, and was named “Corporate Programmer/Consultant of the Year” by Worldwide Radio Summit in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award for the Worldwide Radio Summit in 2020. McVay was recognized three times as “Broadcast Executive of the Year” by the former Radio & Records.
He is a member of the board of directors for Country Radio Broadcasters and the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation (AWMF), and serves as co-chair for the AWMF’s Gracies Awards. He is a member of the board of directors for the Academy of Radio Arts & Sciences and an active volunteer with St. Jude Children’s Hospital, where he serves on their media advisory board. He most recently joined the board of directors for the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation and serves on the media committee for the Broadcasters Foundation of America. McVay is a voting member of both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
Mike McVay is also an author for Radio Ink magazine.